Wednesday Weekly Wrap-Up: December 18, 2024 (NBA Cup Champions Edition)

NBA Cup Champions!!

Welcome back to the Weekly Wednesday Wrap-Up, a—hopefully—weekly series where we recap the week, wonder at trends we noticed, which plays were the best, and the usual vibe check.

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So maybe we panicked a bit with the Bucks’ first ten games. But it all worked out because your Milwaukee Bucks are the 2024 NBA Cup Champions.

The Week(s) That Were

• Bucks 114, Magic 109 (Vegas Baby)
• Bucks 110, Hawks 102 (NBA (Cup) Champions?)
• Bucks 97, Thunder 81 (Champions Once Again)

Weekly Wonderings

The Bucks’ path to becoming champions

So why were the Bucks successful in the NBA Cup? To start, Milwaukee really showed a change in their overall play for the first ten games of the NBA Cup. How much of that could be the team finding a rhythm? How much of those higher stakes were there? Maybe the Bucks were able to flip that switch. I don’t quite know. A part of me believes that the NBA Cup and the urgency and importance of those games would give Milwaukee more of that understanding.

There’s also the fact that last year, the Bucks made it to the semi-final but lost to Indiana Pacers, who they would also lose to in the playoffs later that season. I think Those factors motivated them to go further and win the whole thing. For a team like Milwaukee, they have gone in with expectations of winning championships. They’ve gone in with expectations that they will be a contender for the title, but the first ten games did not show that at all. There are discussions about whether Giannis should be traded. There were discussions about maybe firing Doc Rivers. Hell, we were wondering if Damian Lillard was even that good anymore.

Thankfully, all those questions were put to bed. Giannis is still the best player in the league and needs to stay in Milwaukee. Lillard showed in multiple games, but mainly against the Magic, that he can get the job done when his team needs him, and Doc Rivers also did a good job making the required adjustments. The Bucks were among the best in NBA Cup play, ranking highly in multiple categories across the group and knockout stages:

A quiet and elite defensive performance

When I was discussing Milwaukee‘s first 10-game struggle, there was a significant emphasis on the team’s poor display in the third quarter, primarily on the defensive side. The Bucks ranked near the bottom in every statistical category regarding third-quarter defense, including defensive rating, fast break points, allowed points in the paint, etc. They are still working their way back up to being a middle-of-the-road defensive team in the regular season; however, in NBA Cup play, the Bucks were one of the best defensive teams we saw.

In the semifinal against the Atlanta Hawks, the Bucks were able to slow down Atlanta in the fourth quarter and limit them to tough jumpers instead of points in the paint. Despite Atlanta taking a lot of free throws in the fourth quarter, the Bucks only allowed five field goals. Last night in the final, the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the best teams in the league, struggled mightily on the offensive side. Yes, the Thunder had a frigid night shooting from three, but even if you take that into account, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is the third-leading scorer in the league and an MVP front-runner, struggled and failed to impose his will in the game.

Why was that? The Bucks decided to mimic what they did with Trae Young in terms of putting versatile defenders like Andre Jackson Jr., Gary Trent Jr., and AJ Green on SGA to slow down, and it succeeded.

Milwaukee taking SGA out of rhythm meant the Thunder had Isiah Hartenstein lead the team in scoring for most of the game. Hartenstein is a solid player, but he’s not going to be someone who is going to beat an opponent single-handedly.

The other side of Milwaukee’s defense was limiting fast break opportunities, eliminating points of the paint, and looking more like a cohesive unit. There weren’t many times when the perimeter defender would get burned, and Brook Lopez or Giannis Antetokounmpo would have to come and rescue them. The Bucks limited second-chance points with reasonable rebounding efforts. It felt like a genuinely dialed-in team, as the Bucks allowed only 34 points the entire second half last night. Considering how often the Bucks allow 34 points in a quarter, this was impressive.

Efficient Offense Play

While Milwaukee‘s defense was undoubtedly the biggest surprise in their path to winning the NBA Cup, the Bucks’ offense also did what was needed of them. When you have two players like Giannis and Dame, you expect Milwaukee to be able to score, and they were able to do that; the Bucks had a 115.1 offensive rating, seventh out of all teams in the NBA Cup; the Bucks also did an efficient job scoring the ball. They had an effective field goal percentage of 59.2, second out of all teams, and a true shooting percentage of 61.5, third out of all teams.

Yes, Giannis and Dame were the keys to all that, but we cannot ignore the contributions made by the Bucks role players. AJ Green and Taurean Prince continued shooting the three ball better than nearly all players in the league. Gary Trent Jr. had a couple of games where he may have struggled, but he made timely shots, especially last night. This is a promising development for someone who was brought in as the starting two guard for the Bucks but was demoted to come off the bench.

That move has looked to be the right decision for the Milwaukee Bucks as Andre Jackson Jr., who is more of a defensive specialist, has shown that he has some tools to make necessary offensive plays like corner threes. OKC is one of the best defensive teams in the league, and Milwaukee consistently found open shots from three or made the right passes all of the second half. The Bucks patiently waited for their moments instead of forcing the issue. Another positive for the Bucks is that the offense looked this good without Khris Middleton, who was injured for most of the NBA Cup. In the semifinal, Atlanta Hawks, Khris struggled to shoot the ball and made three turnovers.

Week’s Top Plays

I don’t think I need to explain more.

What’s The Vibe?